Thomson Industries has announced a new generation of precision electric linear actuators for continuous-duty applications which, it claims, offer the highest power density in their class. It adds that the PC series actuators offer many advantages over traditional pneumatic linear actuators, including simpler machine designs, reduced maintenance, higher performance and much lower energy costs.

The German transformer and power supply specialist Block has developed a pair of electronically operated circuit-breakers for 24V DC circuits which can switch individual circuits selectively via only two lines, and perform diagnostics. It says that the Power Mini and Power Compact breakers can be integrated into control and monitoring processes at low cost to improve the switching of high-capacity loads and to open up new protection possibilities.

At the Hannover Fair in April, Siemens will be unveiling a new generation of its Logo! logic modules, with built-in Ethernet ports and Web servers. The Logo! 8 modules, which replace the current series 6 and 7 devices, are said to be smaller and easier to use, with new functions for remote operation and access, and will offer more digital and analogue I/O as well as improved price-to-performance ratios. The range includes eight new core modules and a variety of add-on devices.

Rockwell Automation has announced a family of MCCBs (moulded-case circuit breakers) and control-circuit and load-protection devices that will be available in more than 80 countries around the world. The products meet global certifications ­– including CE, CSA, CE and CCC – and many are IEC-compliant.

The Danish specialist in integrated servo and stepper motors, JVL, has announced an integrated servomotor aimed at mobile and remote applications such as robotic vehicles and remote positioning systems. The MAC402 motor operates from 12–48V DC supplies, such as batteries, and can deliver up to 400W rms (1,200W peak) at speeds of up to 3,000 rpm.

US-based Acces I/O Products has produced a circuit board that allows Android devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to communicate directly with RS-232 devices. The two-way Android-232 data port allows external hardware to control the Android device, or the device to control external hardware.

The Californian motor manufacturer NovaTorque has announced 7.5hp (5.6kW) and 10hp (7.45kW) versions of its electronically commutated permanent magnet motors, which it claims are 3% more efficient than Nema Premium induction motors.

The Israeli company ACS Motion Control has developed a range of switching PWM (pulse width modulation) servodrives that, it says, cost less than linear servodrives, but offer better performance, as well as being smaller and more robust. The NanoPWM drives deliver sub-nanometer position jitter performance, and nanometer following errors when moving at low speeds.

Yokogawa has announced the first in a series of multi-protocol wireless adaptors that will allow wired field instruments and sensors to be used as ISA 100 wireless devices. The first two models are aimed at wired Hart and RS-485 Modbus devices, and the company is planning to release further models that comply with other wired field communications standards, including Foundation Fieldbus and Profibus.

Rockwell Automation has announced a micro-PLC for small standalone machines and remote automation projects, such as stretch wrappers and compressors. The 20-point Allen-Bradley Micro820 PLC has embedded Ethernet and serial ports, a micro-SD memory slot, a 5kHz PWM (pulse-width modulation) output, analogue and four thermistor inputs, and recipe management functions.

Pepperl+Fuchs is claiming a breakthrough in rotary encoder technology with a range of magnetic absolute rotary encoders that deliver accuracies of up to 0.08 degrees with single-turn resolutions of up to 16 bits, and multi-turn resolutions of up to 39 bits. With a sampling time of less than 80µs, they also offer dynamics that “push the boundaries of what has previously been possible,” according to P+F.

The UK-based controls manufacturer Trio Motion Technology has announced an EtherCat-based motion controller that can handle up to 32 axes of servo or stepper drives, and 1,024 I/O. The MC4N-ECAT Motion Coordinator supports an expandable library of EtherCat digital drives and I/O modules, and can be mounted alongside compact EtherCat servodrives. A plug-and-play design detects and configures systems automatically.

B&R has developed a new version of its Smart Display Link technology that allows HMIs to be located up to 100m away from their PCs. This is the third generation of the technology, which supported PC-HMI separations of up to 40m when it was launched in 2004.

A British company has come up with an all-in-one motion control system which integrates an industrial PC, a touchscreen HMI, an eight-axis motion controller with servo or stepping motor drivers, and a 90–240V power supply, all in 19” rack. MotionLink claims that the Servostep PC is the first integrated system of its type.

Rockwell Automation has announced its first machine-mounting safety controller, promising that it will simplify system architectures and save panel space. The Allen-Bradley Armor GuardLogix PAC (programmable automation controller) is a multi-use controller in a hardened package that can be installed directly onto a machine.